Volvo Car Australia has welcomed the NSW Government's electric vehicle strategy and urged federal and state governments to quickly develop their own plans to drive uptake of electric vehicles.
"Volvo applauds the NSW Government's electric vehicle reform package. It is a significant step in the right direction to increase penetration of electric vehicles in Australia, which is lagging the rest of the developed world on uptake," said Volvo Car Australia Managing Director, Stephen Connor.
"Volvo firmly believes there is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine. Therefore, Volvo is committed to become a fully electric car company by 2030 and becoming a leader in the fast-growing premium electric car market.
"In less than a decade we intend to only sell fully electric cars and, phase out any car in our global portfolio with an internal combustion engine, including hybrids.
"This will allow us to meet the expectations of our customers and be a part of the solution when it comes to fighting climate change. Other car makers have announced similar plans.
"We urge the federal government, and other states and territories, to recognise this reality, and fast track their electric vehicle strategies. This is crucial to ensure Australia does not lag behind the global car market which is responding to the seismic technological change that is underway," Mr Connor said.
Volvo has announced its 2022 model range due to launch in July 2021 will only be pure electric, mild-hybrid or plug-in hybrid as the company forges ahead with its electrification strategy.
In August Volvo will launch its first all-electric car, the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric, which will be the first of five all-electric models to be launched over the next five years.
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Volvo Car Group in 2020
For the 2020 financial year, Volvo Car Group recorded an operating profit of 8.5 BSEK (14.3 BSEK in 2019). Revenue over the period amounted to 262.8 BSEK (274.1 BSEK). For the full year of 2020, global sales reached 661,713 cars (705,452), a decline of 6.2 per cent compared to 2019.
About Volvo Car Group
Volvo Cars was founded in 1927. Today, it is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 661,713 cars in 2020 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding since 2010.
As of December 2020, Volvo Cars employed approximately 40,000 (41,500) full-time employees. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for APAC is located in Shanghai. The company's main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Sk vde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofstr m (Sweden).
Under its new company purpose, Volvo Cars aims to provide customers with the Freedom to Move in a personal, sustainable and safe way. This purpose is reflected into a number of business ambitions: for example, by the middle of this decade it aims for half of its global sales to be fully electric cars and to establish five million direct consumer relationships. Volvo Cars is also committed to an ongoing reduction of its carbon footprint, with the ambition to be a climate-neutral company by 2040.